Roaring Lion, Prowling Wolf
by La'Rae and Ninjas Incorporated
Summary: All she wanted was to leave that life behind her. Move on. Her brother's weren't about to let that happened. No matter what that would cause. They just wanted their sister back. Ariel only wanted a peaceful life, but when the father of your child was the Original hybrid and your best friend a sarcastic 150yr vampire that was probably to much to ask for. OCXKlaus
1. Chapter 1

It had been six years now, six years since she had last seen them. They wouldn't even recognize her at this point, at least she had hoped they wouldn't when Bobby called to tell her they had got wind of her location and to fill her in on everything that had happened.

She gritted her teeth at the story of their misadventures from the last four years, it was exactly why she had been avoiding them. Her eyes glanced over at the little girl sitting at the table. Did she really want her brothers back in her life, after everything she had been through? After everything that they have done?

That wasn't an answer she could give herself at the moment, because she still hadn't decided. "How long do I have before they arrive?" She finally responded, he should have known that it was going to take her a minute to process everything.

"Couple hours at best, Dean seemed pretty antsy to get his eyes on you." That sounded accurate, her brother had always been such a mother hen.

"Thanks for letting me know Bobby, I appreciate it." Then she promptly hung up. A sigh fell from her lips, she ran her hands through strawberry blonde waves. She didn't know if this was something she was prepared to deal with mentally.

Not with everything that was going on.

"Mama? Are you okay?" She smiled at the inquiry, walking over to the table and kissing her daughter's forehead.

"I'm okay, come on or we'll both be late." The little girl hopped down from the chair and headed to the door, her mother followed soon after. Trying to push the thought of their impending arrival from her mind and just go about her day normal, well as normal as possible.

It was a long shot anyway.

..

Dean remembered Hell, vividly. It was a terrible nightmare, one he would never fully recover from at that. But it was nothing compared to the six years of silence from his baby sister. Six long years spent wondering, worrying, trying to figure out what exactly happened, to figure out why she up and vanished on them. Abandoned them.

Bobby knew, he had to have known. Because the old man never seemed worried about her, not like they were. He didn't know if he'd forgive either of them for it either.

Her for leaving, and Bobby for helping her. So he ignored it, pretended it didn't matter. That avoidance only worked for so long until his concern finally won over and the first small piece of news regarding her current location had him loading up the Impala to go and get her back.

He needed to know why she left, he had so many questions for her. Because how could she just abandon their family? Ariel had to know what they were dealing with, she was a hunter, so she just had to know.

Sam was fidgeting in the seat next to him. It pulled him from his thoughts. "You alright there?" The taller of the two nodded his head, his expression distant.

"It's been six years Dean." What if she's not the same? He could hear the unspoken question, and shook his head. Not that much could have changed. Not to her, not his baby sister.

She couldn't be that different. Six years wasn't that long of a time.

Of course it wouldn't really go the way he expected it too.

Six years was a long time, for a human at least.

..

Ariel practically fell into the seat next to him, her whole body slumped over the counter. She looked like someone who had just receive the worst news of their life. Whatever that may partake. "You okay Buffy?" She didn't even look at him as she called out her drink order.

He was half sure that she was an alcoholic at this point. All though he really didn't have any room to talk. She downed the entire glass before she turned to look at him. Everything about her was screaming off to him, she looked a mess, as if she had just spent the last thirty minutes have a major anxiety attack or something.

"My brothers are coming to town, I haven't seen them in six years." Well that explained her current emotional state easy enough.

Damon had heard a lot about the Winchester siblings over the years. He wasn't arrogant enough to think that vampires were the biggest or scariest monsters out there. The man had been alive for over a hundred years at this point, of course he had seen and heard things about the other creatures that go bump in the night. So he had of course heard a lot about the Winchester siblings, who hadn't?

They were a big deal in the supernatural hunting world and would probably become and even bigger deal as time went by. If they managed to live that is.

"And they have no idea about you or the little one." She had originally thrown him for a loop when he realized who she was, but once he knew his perspective changed.

"She's part of the reason I left Damon, so of course I never mentioned it. Let's not even get started on the other thing. What am I going to do?" He honestly didn't have an answer for her, besides the obvious one.

But he was pretty sure she was tired of running, and she had made a home for her and her child here. "Can't help you there Buffy." She buried her face in her hands, stress basically pouring out of her.

He felt sorry for the woman, because she was a good person and the situation she was now stuck in sucked. But they all had to face their demons at some point.

Not literal demons though, because he was pretty sure she'd claim that had been easier than this was going to be. She was rather predictable at times.

..

Their eyes met just as she was ducking out of the bar, she wanted to just turn around and head back inside instead of facing her current problem outright. Although she didn't want Damon anywhere them, the prick was surprisingly over protective of her for some unknown reason and she was sure he'd kill anyone who appeared to be threatening her. Which was defiantly about to be one of them.

Damon was a good friend, she'd have to get the next round.

Back to the current problem. They were leaning against her car, she wasn't even sure how they had figured out which one belong to her, but there they were. She could see the Impala parked a few spaces over, it was a fine car. Her gaze went back over to the two towering figures.

Well it was nice to know that she was officially the shortest of the three. Did she need her car? The question passed briefly through her mind as she debated what she was going to do, because she still had to pick her baby girl up from school and she did not want them there for that.

Maybe Caroline could? She'd give the blonde a call. It appeared they grew tired of her apparent stalling and had started walking towards her. Joy.

This wouldn't be a warm reunion. They stopped a few steps from her, she didn't smile or offer them any form of greeting. Instead she ignored them and walked past their frozen forms. Ariel couldn't deal with this right now.

Dean just had to stop her, he reached out grabbing her arm and forcing her to stop dead in her tracks. "Aren't you going to say hello?" She looked over her shoulder, she met his hurt look with a glare.

"No." With a strength she shouldn't have possessed she yanked her arm from his grasp and crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's been six years and you don't even have the decency to say hello to your family." His tone was harsh, but she could see the hurt and pain in his eyes. Ariel needed to figure out quickly what she wanted.

"Family?" She scoffed, because that was funny. They weren't family, hadn't been for a long time.

No they were soldiers who all marched to the command of their father, a father who hadn't even noticed how much he was hurting them. Her especially.

Dean looked taken aback by her tone. What was wrong with her? She was not the little girl he remembered, regardless that she still look almost identical to her. Physically she had barely changed.

But he didn't even recognize her anymore. This was not his sister.

"Why are you guys here? I'm sure there are better things you could be doing." Her tone was knowing, as if she knew everything that had happened to them in the last four years. As if she hadn't been absent from the lives up until this point.

That made his blood boil, she knew. She had been keeping tabs on them. Of course she would, that was just so Ariel. Never allowing them to be a part of her life but making sure to keep up with theirs. Arial hadn't abandoned them, no what she had done was so much worse.

She had let him believe she had.

"Why are.. Why are we here? I think that's a bit obvious." She laughed, like she straight up laughed, as if it was funny to her. As if they hadn't spent the last six years worrying over her, wondering if she had died or not.

"You're here for me? Oh my god, you actually came all this way just for me. There's no hunt or lead you're chasing. You're actually here for me. I don't believe it." Her voice is filled with mirth, she's taunting him.

"God dammit! Ariel of course we're here for you." She just snorted at his proclamation. Her eyes turned their younger brother. Sam didn't seemed to know what to think about the situation, something was wrong.

Something with Ariel was wrong. He just couldn't place it. Her eyes were sharp as they regarded him, and then they narrowed. "You're awfully quiet Sammy." Her tone is somehow void of all its previous mirth, her whole persona had changed.

"It's been a long day." And he wasn't convinced that she was actually their sister, something was just different with her. They would find out soon enough. She then brushed past them, a have thought warning of leave me alone was thrown over her shoulder as she briskly walked away from them.

They stood on the side walk for a moment before heading into the bar she had just come out of. Dean needed a drink.

..

He often got calls from her, they did share a child. Sometimes she called just to talk, sometimes she called to let him know how their girl was doing, sometimes they were calls to let him speak to their baby girl and sometimes they were warnings. So he was by no means surprised when his cell rang and it was her number. "Hello love." Except this time was different than any of those times before.

The hitch in her breathing was obvious, she'd been crying. Not the regular crying the humans typically did either, no this was the sort of crying that happened after something awful. He'd only witnessed this type of reaction from her twice. Which could only mean one thing.

"Ariel love, I need you to breathe." It raised one question from him though, what had they expected her to do?

It takes her a minute to compose herself, he never hangs up on her in that time either. He still needs to know what exactly is going on. So instead while she works on calming down he works silently on gathering some things together, it looks like he will be making this trip earlier than expected.

He had plans for how all of this was supposed to play out, and he'd still get what he wanted from the town. But his family came first. Because if he couldn't protect his girls now, what good would all the power be. "Nik, my brothers are here." She finally speaks, her voice is small, her tone scared.

His decision is already made, it was decided when she call in hysterics. "I'm on my way."

Her relieved sigh echoes through the speaker of the phone. "Marianna will be pleased." She manages to say, he cannot help but to smile.

"Let's surprise her." She makes a noise of agreement, he suppresses a laugh.

"Ariel, get some rest, tomorrow's going to be a long day." She sighs, because she knows he is not wrong.

..

The first time she met Damon had been over ten years ago. It was coincidently right after she found Nik. They had hit it off nicely, Damon was a good friend to her. So after Marianna was born she introduced him to Nik. Ariel had always thought they'd get along, and they did.

Klaus liked the much younger vampire, he was rather amusing at time. Reminded him a bit of his brother Kol, that part he always ignored, but he was defiantly interesting. Besides he was a good friend to his girl and she did not have very many of those. It was also nice that the dark haired man would do practically anything to keep her and his daughter safe. He didn't even have to compel the younger man to do so. Which was refreshing.

Compelled loyalty was only good for so long.

So he valued the bond between Ariel and the dark haired Salvatore. Because it meant someone was looking after her when he couldn't be there. So even though getting a call from him of odd it was in no way surprising considering what Ariel had just told him on the phone.

"Did you know that apparently all hunters have plaid fetish." Damon began with much ado as soon as he answered the phone.

"Yes, I'm glad Ariel never seemed interested in the trend." He heard the other man snort from his end of the conversation. Klaus rolled his eyes.

"I assume you're coming to town then." Damon spoke with confidence, he knew where the other man stood.

"I am, keep an eye on the hunters until I get there." He didn't want them to be alone with her again. It would only hurt her more.

"I won't let them get near them." He promised. Damon liked the Winchester woman and her daughter, they were good friends. He didn't have too many of those.

..

She knew the boys had gotten a hotel to stay the night, it was apparent that they weren't going to just let her go in peace. It didn't really surprise her. But it also didn't mean she was going to go out of her way to see them. Because yesterday was almost too much for her to handle.

"Don't think too hard on it love." She is so thankful that he's here, because Ariel knows this isn't something she can handle on her own. The emotional context. Her family had never handled feelings well.

It was easier for her now that she had been gone from them for so long. But with things like this, because she knew they weren't going to take this news well. They were going to be angry. More than they were already, and that this part was going to be hard.

This town was full of people whom she cared for, and if her brother's got wind of what some of them were it wouldn't end well. Not only that if they found out what had happened to her.. Well it wasn't going to be pretty.

"I'm going to go surprise my girl." He kisses her forehead before leaving her standing in the kitchen alone. Ariel set her worries aside for the time to get breakfast prepared.

It was going to be a long day. She already needed a drink.

But that was going to have to wait.

..

They stop to get breakfast at the grill their sister had walked out of the day before. It's strange, everything this town, about how she was acting yesterday. Everything is just weird. The town seems normal, too normal. "Dean she has a life, do you really want to disrupt that?" Dean gave him a look.

"We're family." He states as if that was the obvious answer. Sam rolls his eyes in response, of course Dean doesn't see the big picture.

"Anyway, did you look into the lead?" Sam nodded his head.

"Called Bobby to ask him some questions and he told me that it wasn't anything to worry about." Dean's brow furrowed at his brother's words.

"He didn't even offer to help, told me to drop it." That didn't really sound like Bobby. His fist clenched, something wasn't right here.

"Well too bad."

..

They left his rental at the house, Marianna went on and on about some trivial thing while they drove to the school. She had been ecstatic to see him. It wasn't often that he got to see his daughter and it showed. Ariel was quiet, she had allowed him to drive, and he could see her slowly retreating into herself.

A sigh fell from his lips as he regarded her. She caused him a great deal of worry over the years. "Ariel." He spoke directly once she had returned to the car from taking their daughter to her class.

She had a hard time looking at him. He knew she did not intend to hurt him by the gesture, but it did sting. If only for a moment until she found her courage.

"I want them gone." Her mind was made. He didn't blame her, the original didn't want them anywhere near his girls either. But he also knew what that decision would cost her. She loved fiercely and her family was important to her. Even after all the years she has spent away from them.

"Are you sure love?" She nodded her head after a moment, she had to be. Her brothers bring nothing but old demons she'd rather not face. They needed to leave, so she and her daughter could have a more peaceful life.

"Very well." The mattered settled, they pulled out of the school's parking lot and turned in the direction of home.

They had much to discuss.

..

She reached out to them, it had surprised them both. With how she had been the day before, how cold her eyes seemed when she regarded them. Ariel wanted to meet them for lunch outside of the small town. Dean agreed.

He had expected her to be alone, expected so much from her, so he was blindsided when he saw her sitting with him. Dean knew a lot about him too. Seen his face from time to time, this man was a whole another breed of monster. And there was his baby sister sitting contently next to the man who had killed thousands as if this was a regular occurrence as if she hadn't a single care in the world.

Because there was no way she hadn't known. His sister had always been fascinated by the other types of monsters in there world. The ones that didn't come from hell or its demons. So there was just no way for her to be ignorant. He looked over at Sam, his brother didn't recognize the man.

Sam wouldn't though, he'd been away too. He never wanted this life. So he wouldn't know.

But she did, and there she was smiling at him like some little girl with a crush. He clenched his jaw, his eyes hard. She finally looked up, when their eyes met everything about her changed. Her smile vanished into a thin line, the laughter stopped, and her eyes become cold. All the previous life gone.

"Dean." Her voice was flat, void of any emotion. That vile man sitting next to her didn't even look at them, his attention turned to the electronic device in his hand.

"Ariel, what is going on here?" He demanded as they approached the table. She made a motion for him to sit.

"I take it you know who this is then." She had banked on it, her brother had always hovered over her shoulders as a child and even in there teen years. So there was no doubt he'd remember the stories she often read or told him about the various other types of vampires that existed in their world.

"Mikealson." Dean spat his name out as if had burned him somehow, as if saying it aloud tormented him.

The cheeky bastard looked up finally acknowledging his presence and merely gave him an amused smirk. "Of course he does, I'm infamous my love." Sam's brow rose at the three of them then, not quite understanding the tension.

"I'm sorry, but what exactly is going on here?" Ariel's eyes softened for the briefest second but it passed so quickly that perhaps he had imagined it. It felt wrong.

"Yes Dean what is going on here? You came into town looking for me, asking questions of why I left, well here I am. So take a seat." She seemed almost cruel. Time had changed her somehow. Her demons darker than theirs.

Klaus chuckled at her tone, she was an amazing actress, and he almost believe the malice in her voice. But he knew how much this hurt her, what she was about to do them was going to hurt her. Unnoticed to the boys he laid a comforting hand on her back.

"What happened to you! And what the hell are you doing with him?!" Dean all but shouted, his emotions raged. Her resolve almost broke then but she kept face.

"That's not really your business." Klaus told the boy, a dark glint in his eye. He would not allow them to raise their voice at her like that. She didn't stop him.

"I want you to leave. Both of you, you have to stop chasing me. I do not want you in my life, I have no love for you. We are not a family." And she said it with such certainty that he almost believed it. Almost. But he knew her better than most. Like he said she was a wonderful actress.

Her brothers looked taken aback, as if she had physically struck them. Ariel felt as if she had. God she had never wanted it to be like this. But all things considered she knew that this was the best choice. It wasn't just her anymore, she had a child to consider, and she knew that her daughter would be better off if she didn't have to deal with her family's form of supernatural.

"What?!" Her eyes steeled further.

"Was that not clear enough for you Dean?" She raised her brow at him, a challenge.

"No, I heard you. I'm just trying to figure what the happened to you. You've changed." Ariel did not deny this accusations, she became quiet her eyes dark.

"Leave."

Dean got up first, betrayal racked him. He didn't understand what was going on, why she had become this way. None of it made any sense to him. It probably never would. She was just so different from the little girl he remembered, so much had changed. Sam followed soon after, his dark brown eyes lost when he looked at her. Sad. Broken. All because of her. The look in his eyes at that moment would haunt her forever.

 **XOXOX**

 **I'm just going to leave this here. Let me know what you think!**

 **Sincerely, La'Rae**


	2. Chapter 2

He knew the moment the news that someone who resembled Ariel Winchester was spotted in Virginia that it wouldn't end well. That's why he called her in the first place, to give her warning, and a head start if she decided to run. She had always been closest to him, so he protected them, that girl and her daughter. The boys could hate him for it all they wanted to but he wouldn't betray her trust no matter what they said.

Dean had called him asking about something that seemed supernatural where she was, he gave him a warning. Those boys wouldn't be able to handle the truth. Hell there were times that he still found it hard to believe. So he told them to leave it be, that it was handled.

So he knows to expect them when she calls to tell him that she made them leave. He's sure that it hurt her to do so, if the way she sounded was any indication. Because he knows that she's not heartless, that she does still care about them. But she had to do what was best for her daughter and he could understand that. She wasn't his, not biologically, but she was more his daughter than her father's.

The sound of slamming car doors pulls him from his thoughts, Bobby sighs deeply. He felt for the boys truly, but he knew what she had done was for the best. So he knew that this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation. No this wasn't going to be fun.

"Bobby!"

…

When Ariel was sure her brothers had left the town only then did she allow herself and Marianna to be in more public places. They could never know about her daughter. She wouldn't allow it. Damon and Klaus met them for lunch at the diner. Ariel didn't bother try to figure out what either of them were planning.

Bringing Damon into the fold had always surprised her. Klaus trusted so few with his secrets that it was an actual shock to her that he'd tell the other man about his plans. Damon seemed happy to help, as long as Ariel promised to ensure the doppelgangers survival. Which she did, seeing as she was certain that the girl needed to live so more Hybrids could be made.

"Hello love." Klaus kissed her cheek first before bending down to pick up their daughter. The little girl was quick to nuzzle her head into his neck, resting her heavy head on his shoulder. Ariel smiled at him, before turning to look over at Damon.

"I hope you don't think that's how you should be greeted." He snarcks at her, she laughs a little.

"Of course not, but it's how you should be greeted." She leaned up and laid a kiss on his cheek. Damon just pushed her off of him and made a face at her.

"Your boyfriend is standing right there." He wipes the faint stain of her lipstick off his cheek, and she rolled her eyes.

Klaus snickered at the display but looked down to see Marianna giggling at them. "Are Uncle Damon and Mommy silly?" Her smile just widened at all of them, Ariel smirked at Damon who just let out an over exaggerated a sigh. The three adults made their way to a booth.

…

"Katherine's in town." Their reaction to this statement made by Damon a few days later is absolutely hilarious to the dark haired male. Each party has two different levels of murderous intent etched across their faces.

"Here, in this town. Does she know Nik's here?" Ariel was the first to recover from the shock and is quick to get a feel for the situation.

"I don't think so, but I'm pretty sure she's here for Elena." Damon tells them as he pulls a liquor bottle out of the cabinet.

Klaus takes a deep breath, he has too, or else there is no telling what he will do. Ariel looks over at him from the corner of her eye concern clear in her gaze. He shakes his head. "It needs to stay that way." His words are muttered harshly, angrily. That wench being here could ruin all his careful planning, but it could also ruin the life Ariel had made here for their daughter.

Ariel turned her focus back to Damon, he was fixing himself a drink from her personal liquor supply. She knew seeing Katherine now after everything that had happened wasn't easy for him. He had loved her for the better part of a hundred years, and she well was a bitch. Her lips pursed as she thought more about the vampire doppelgänger. "Do you think you'd be able to figure out what she's up too?" Damon nodded his head at her question before taking a huge gulp of the drink he'd made himself.

Ariel had some of the best scotch.

"Sure, should be easy. She's currently at the Boarding house tormenting Stefan." He tells them while leaning into the kitchen counter. All of their plotting always took place in Ariel's kitchen. Usually because she was always cooking or making something in there. Right now it appeared to be some sort of bread.

"I need to go back to New York." Damon watches as her facial expression drops when Klaus says that.

Klaus apparently notices it too because he says this next. "I want you and Mariana to come with me. Just for a little while." Ariel for the first time since he'd entered the kitchen turns fully away from bowl she'd been kneading dough in to stare at the blonde Original. Damon takes this as his que to leave.

He really didn't want to hear or see what would happen next.

"After everything I just did to ensure we could stay here, and now you're just asking me to uproot our lives here for an unforeseeable time? That's not fair Niklaus." Her voice is small, it's barely above a whisper as she speaks. This hurts her to have to think about them.

He doesn't get mad at the defiance in her words, he knows better. Klaus knows what he's asking of her. So he remains quiet allow her time to figure it out. He knows that he cannot force her to come, not realistically. It wouldn't be fair to either of them.

Ariel bites her lips, she knows that them going with Nik is the best course of action if Katherine is in town. She had her own history with the women, an ugly one, one that only one party was aware of, it was a history that desperately needed to stay forgotten. Buried. But leaving now after everything, after what she'd done to them. It just wasn't fair. This was their home, Marianna had a life here friends here. How could she just pull her daughter from that?

"Two weeks, we'll come to New York for two weeks, give Damon some time to figure out exactly what Katherine's plans are. Then no matter what, Marianna and I come back." Klaus purses his lips at that, this is not exactly what he had hoped to happen but for now it would have to do.

"Alright, two weeks, then we all come back."

..

Two weeks turned into two months. She thought that morning while looking at the calendar while making breakfast for them. Ariel should have known.

"What do you mean someone kidnapped Elena? I thought you were supposed to be protecting her?!" Ariel observed Nik growl into her phone. Damon had called this morning to inform them that Elena had gone missing from a party last night. One where they so happened to be trying to kill Katherine.

Klaus hangs up aggressively, and presses the phone back into Ariel's hands. "I'm going to kill him." She rolled her eyes at him but nodded her head regardless. The woman highly doubted he'd actually go through with it. Damon was her friend after all.

He looked like he had something snappy to say to that but was interrupted by Marianna stumbling half-awake into the kitchen rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Ariel held back a snicker as Nik took one look at the little girl and completely became a different person. She felt bad for anyone who thought they'd be able to come between that man and his daughter.

Marianna had a fever last night when they had put her to bed so Ariel had allowed her to sleep in late this morning. It appeared she was still feeling bad. Ariel watched as her daughter sort of just fell into her father's arms and allowed him to scoop her up. The frown on his face also clued her in, he looked concerned.

"Still feeling bad princess?" Marianna's nod of confirmation was weak as she buried her face into his neck and shoulder. Ariel walked over to the two then, leaving the dishes in the sink.

She placed her hand on the back of Marianna's neck, the heat could be felt before their skin ever made contact. A deep frown settled on her lips. "I think we should take her to see a doctor." Ariel mouths quietly to him, not wanting her daughter to hear the word doctor.

Kluas nods his head in agreement. "I can have someone come here." He pauses, hating himself for the question he's about to ask her. Ariel gives him a look as if she has an idea. Marianna dozes off again.

"You want me to go back to Virginia? Now?" She gives in incredulous look as if she doesn't believe it. He nods, Ariel huffs.

"I have this feeling that Elijah is connected to this." Ariel grits her teeth. That would not do. They couldn't have him poking his self-righteous nose into things.

"He wouldn't be on a war path if you told him the truth." She points out while walking over to where her purse ism grabbing just her keys from within it, everything else she had a second set of at home. Nik gives her a look. Ariel waves her hand dismissively at him then.

"I'm going, I'm going. End of the week you better be back with me. And you better keep me updated on her condition." He gave a nod and watched as she disappeared, the only indication that she'd been standing there was the fall of a single white feather and the sound of fluttering wings.

Now to call the doctor. He carried Marianna back to her room and laid her carefully on the bed before settling himself next to her. Klaus could make the call from here. He also sent a text to Damon letting the younger man know Ariel would be getting their doppelgänger back to them.

..

Ariel landed in the middle of a dimly lit and dust covered living room, the young human doppelgänger was sitting on a vintage couch. She made a startled noise. The woman held a finger up to her lips while stepping over to stand next to the couch, she made a motion for Elena to stand. Her hands fell upon the teen's shoulders holding them protectively.

"Everything is going to be fine." She spoke just then the air around them shifted, a dark look settled over her face. One Elena did not see.

The teen is now standing behind her, Ariel was fast. In front of the woman she could make out the stature of another person. A man. "Rosemary you did not mention her." His voice is cool, there is an age too it, and a warning hidden in his tone. Elena is suddenly very glad to be standing behind the older woman. It was probably the safest place for her to be at that moment.

Ariel reached forward and patted Elijah's cheek in a very condescending manor. "Don't frighten the children dear, it's very unbecoming. I've only just arrived." He grabs her wrist forcing her hand from his face. She doesn't seemed to be too bothered by him.

"As interesting as it is to see you, you are in my way." She smiles, it's not a nice or kind. It's a very threatening smile one that warns him. This is the smile of a lioness before she devours her prey.

"Unhand me Elijah, you won't like what follows. Miss Gilbert is under MY protection. Please do not think I will just hand her over too you. Especially when you were so careless with the ones before her." His teeth grit together, he drops her wrist. Ariel turns her attention to the two spectators.

As her eyes landed on the male companion he burst into a million bloody chunks. The woman screamed and rushed forward. Ariel didn't even move to get out of the way, she gave a small flick of her wrist and the woman was sent into the wall behind her. "I'm sparing your life, don't waste it. You won't get a second chance." She informed her coly. Rose stood slowly groaning as she did, before rushing out of the room.

Elijah was actually startled by this display of power. He'd never known her to be so strong, never knew her to have so much control over her abilities. Then to see them so profoundly used. The strength of an angel. It was truly a beautiful to behold. Her cool eyes turned back to him, the girl still standing behind her.

"Don't make me hurt you Elijah, you know that I can and will." She felt a shift of air around them, as Damon appeared behind her. He grabbed Elena and made haste to leave them. Sparing one glance at Ariel's stiff form before bolting. Elijah made no move to follow, too focused on the woman before him. This could not be the same person.

"What has my brother done to you?" He whispered reaching out to brush a strand of hair from her face. Ariel swatted his hand away. She did not appreciate him trying to be so familiar with her.

"Nothing." She skirted around him, he eyeballed her curiously. What game were they playing here?

"You are not the same girl I remember. The Ariel I remember would have never have been okay with that." He make a gesture to the fleshy pile of what used to be a vampire. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well that Ariel died, a thousand years ago I might add. Your parents made sure of it. So forgive me if I do not meet up to the standards of a ghost. Now as fun as this reunion has been I must be off." She left him standing there in the poorly lite abandon mansion to think on her words.

Elijah stood there baffled. How very interesting.

..

Ariel reappeared in the Salvatore living room several hours later. Damon handed her a glass of scotch. "Thank you. How is Elena?" She mumbled pacing around the living room.

"A little startled, still trying to make sense of what happened, she's home my baby brother keeping careful guard like the good puppy he is. Katherine as expected is no help." Ariel frowned at him. He watched her make circles on the hardwood for about five minutes before demanding answers.

"I see you've gotten control over your powers." His tone is dry and she gives him an unamused look.

"I've been busy while in New York. Where is she now?" She asked settling next to him on the couch. Damon gave her an appraising look, trying to figure out what was going on here.

"You want to talk to her?" He asked with a raised brow. Ariel bit her lip.

"We believe it is the best course of action now. Elijah snooping around makes things harder." She leans forward setting the glass down on the old piece of furniture. Damon sighed.

"She's in the tomb. And she has the moonstone." He can't remember a time when he's seen her look so satisfied. "Good, means this will be fun."

Ariel stood before offering her hand to him. Damon accepted it reluctantly allowing her to pull him to his feet. He really hated to see just what her definition of fun entailed. It didn't sound like anything too pleasant. Not if her look was anything to go by.

They arrived at the steps of the tomb within moments. Ariel descended them first, her eyes held a determined look in them. He followed slowly before stepping around her to push the stone away. She watched with a strange expression. "You don't have to stay." Her tone is soft, as she offers him an out. Damon shakes his head. "I'm staying." She gave a small nod before approaching the entrance of the cage they trapped the doppelgänger vampire in.

"Katerina I think it's time we met." Her voice reminded him of a deadly melody as she spoke, more siren than angel in that instant. Damon would hate to be on the other end of her ire at that particular moment, he almost felt bad for the woman who broke him. Almost.

Ariel prays the vampire doesn't actually remember her. Because this would become very ugly very quickly if she did.

Katherine came forward leaving the safety of the darkness. Someone knew her name. Someone she'd never met. That was not a voice she recognized. So you can imagine the surprise on her face when the speaker come into view. The woman wasn't someone she'd ever met, not personally. But she knew of her.

"Hello Katerina." The voice sent chills down her spine, fear clinging to her bones.

She was his wife. Klaus knew where she was, he found her.

But how was she alive? From all the stories she'd ever heard of this woman, she'd died when they were all still human. What was going on? Katherine didn't have to wait long for her answer.

"I'll give you a moment to collect yourself, people are usually surprised. I am an angel after all." Her eyes glowed with a sudden blue hue. She looks over to Damon who had been unusually quiet this whole time, and then she realized something. It was clear by the look on his face. He knew, this entire time he knew.

"You know about him, about the real sun and moon curse?" Katherine demanded, practically screaming at him. He shrugged his shoulders. Ariel just smirked. It seemed as if she truly did not recognize her

"Please don't screech dear, it's really unbecoming of someone who is supposedly a lady." She was past the burrier and in Katherine's face then. Ariel stuck her hand in the pocket of the dress the vampire was wearing pulling out the moonstone. "This belongs to me." Before Katherine could stop her she was out of reach and standing next to Damon, she turned her heel having got what she came for. The dark haired vampire followed her never sparing Katherine a second glance. She watched them walk away from her. Her leverage gone.

Ariel called Nik with an update as soon as they were out of hearing range, as soon as she hung up her temple started burning. The strawberry blonde woman fell forward Damon barely caught her. She'd over extended her powers today. He carried her to the car and drove her home, knowing she'd be fine when she woke up. Damon sent a text to Klaus from his phone before slamming on the breaks just before arriving at her house.

Her brothers were back, and they were not alone.

He cursed vehemently. This was not going to end well. And here he thought he wasn't going to have to kill people today.

 **XOXOX**

 **I don't know anymore. Please let me know what you think.**

 **Sincerely, La'Rae**


	3. Chapter 3

The jolt from the car coming to a sudden stop was enough to wake the woman. Ariel let out a groan as she opened her eyes. What was Damon thinking? Her eyes widen as she saw the reason for his impromptu stop. She growled, it came from deep within her chest and actually startled the vampire. He looked over at her with surprise.

"I thought you would be out longer." He mumbled and she shrugged.

"Go ahead and pull into the driveway, I deal with them." Her tone was low and dangerous.

Ariel opened the door of the old mustang, she completely ignored her brothers as she stalked over to what she knew was the reason they were back. The dark haired man dressed in a long trench coat and tie actually took a step back. Startling the two humans he was with in the process. "Why are you here Castiel? Why have you brought them back here? I thought I made myself very clear." Dean could feel the heat in her tone from where he stood. The last part directed at them.

"We know about Marianna, you could have told us Ariel." Her eyes widened how did they find out? She turned to face him walking past Castiel and up to her older brother until her face was mere inches from his.

Damon got out of the car then. He'd back her up no matter what she decided to do next. He had promised after all. She was his best friend. Ariel gave him an appreciative nod over her shoulder before refocusing on her brother.

"I told you to stop chasing me, why did you keep digging? WHY?!" Her tone is harsh as she speaks spiking into a higher octave towards the end. She's getting emotional. Ariel needed to calm down.

"Because you are our sister, even if you want to deny it, even if you no longer believe it. We are still family, family never stops. You don't get to just walk away from us, not this time, not again. We are not going to let you go. If you run we will find you, I will never stop looking for you." Damon blinked, that sounded oddly familiar. Stubbornness was obviously a Winchester trait.

She shook her head vehemently. "No! No you don't get to do that, you don't have that privilege. You can't just decide now that you want to be my brother. It doesn't work like that. I made my choice. This is my life, the life I have made out pain and suffering. A life where I live to protect my daughter, so that she never has to face the things that I have. You being here, ruins all of that. The two you only attract more pain and more suffering and I'm done. I've suffered long enough. I am not going ask again. This is your only warning. Leave or I will make you." Her eyes glow lightly, she lets a piece of her grace show. It brings Castiel to his knees. He's never experience such power.

Dean doesn't look surprised, he doesn't even look hurt at her words. He merely shakes his head. It wasn't something he wanted to believe at first when Castiel told them the truth. About Ariel, about what she really was. But it made sense, every last little bit of it. It explained everything, her behavior, the unusual strength, her entire attitude the last time the saw her and also the reason as to why she left.

"We're not them, you know that right? We're not Michael and Lucifer." His words shock her to the very core. How did he know? Who told him? She glances back at Castiel he is slowly recovering for her outburst of grace. Her grace had always been harmful to weaker angels.

Ariel felt like she was going to suffocate, her lungs started to feel like they were burning, she couldn't breathe. There's a flash of a memory, painted in red, they reach out to her as the world around them burns, followed by a sword running through her chest. She falls forward grasping her knees for support. Damon is by her side in an instant moving her away from the trio. He vamps at them when her older brother tries to stop him.

"Don't you fucking dare!" He snarls at them. This does actually startle them, they hadn't expected that. Damon was not an infamous as her baby daddy. He held her close trying to decide if killing them would be worth her ire. Probably not.

Her breathing slowly began to settle. She placed a hand on his arm, silently thanking him. Ariel turns to look at the younger angel her face contorted in anger. Belatedly Dean thinks it's an absolutely terrifying look for her.

"Did you tell them what my other so called brothers did to me? Did you tell them that they ripped out my grace before running a sword through my heart? That they thought be doing that they could elicit a reaction from God himself. Did you?" Her tone is venomous as she speaks, eyes cold. Castiel actually looks guilty.

"Yes. They deserved to know." She stares at him a blank look overcoming her face. Ariel couldn't believe him.

"Do you know how long it took me to reform after that? How much agony I withstood all so I could get back to my job? It took five centuries, and then after, once I had finally found peace. Their little feud not only destroyed me again but also that of my unborn child. And then you went and told both of their vessels about me, about who I really am and where exactly to find me. Once Lucifer and Michael get hold of them what's to stop then from coming after me again? But they deserved to know." She's visibly seething now. Damon thinks that there is very little that is stopping her from killing them at that moment.

The brothers give her a surprise look. She believed they'd accept there rolls. That they'd willingly participate in the apocalypse. "It's not going to come to that." Dean tries to tell her but she just shrieks at him in response.

"You won't have a choice, the others they aren't going to give you one. These are your roles, roles you were always destined to play. It's why I was reborn as your sister. The perfect fit, Michael's sword-"She makes a mild gesture towards Dean." – and Lucifer's True vessel-" She pointed at Sam and then made a indication towards herself."- Of course I would be your sister, do you know what Ariel translates too, what it means in Hebrew? It means Lion of God, Lion of God. And do you know what my purpose was, what job God gave me? I take it by the look on your faces that Castiel didn't tell you that part." Ariel takes a deep breath before continuing letting the first part of her rant settle in.

"God gave me the most sacred job, a job I have taken seriously and have never forgotten. A job I have literally died for, twice. I am to protect humanity, from people, supernatural and human alike. It's why he keeps reforming me. So I can continue serving his purpose. As I always have faithfully. Doubtlessly. I can't do that if you kill me, which you will eventually, because at some point you'll have to say yes. The cost for saying no it will become too much." Ariel pat's Damon's arm silently asking him to let her go. He does so without a blink. Not at all surprise by her little outlast, he's heard this story before. She's always been completely honest with him about herself. He has a tremendous amount of respect for her because of that.

"So I'm only going to say this one more time, I am not asking, I'm telling you and if you choose to not listen to me. You are not going to like what comes next. You will find out exactly why I am called the Lion of God. Leave." And then she turns from them, not allowing them the chance to respond.

Damon raises his brow at them after a moment of silence passes by them. As if to say what are you still doing here? He'd seen her destroy one of the vampires that took Elena with barely a glance, Damon hated to see what she'd do while actually trying. He left them standing in the driveway and headed after her. The dark haired vampire needed to make sure his friend was okay.

He had the feeling she wouldn't be. Because he knew, knew that she actually loved her brother and that what she just did was destroying her. She knew they weren't really the two who had killed her, who she also considered her brothers but she couldn't allow them that kind of access to her. Ariel had Marianna now, it wasn't just her anymore and she wasn't about to let them take her away from her child again.

He listened for the sound of the start of the old car while closing the door to her house behind him. Good, they listened. Damon headed into the kitchen first to grab a bottle of liquor and some glasses before heading to the room he knew she'd be in. She was sitting in front of a small piano, her hands playing absently at the keys. Cautiously he took a seat next to her on the stool, he pour one of the glasses before pressing in into her fallen hands.

Ariel didn't last another second. The tears started running down her face, sobs retched through her body. He pulled her close to him, planting a small kiss to the top of her hair. "Shh, it's going to be okay." Damon held her. She cried.

Neither one really believe that to be true. They both knew better.

..

Klaus arrived two days later after a doctor had cleared Marianna for travel. Damon was the one who opened the door to her house when he arrived, he handed the still sleeping girl from the car ride over to the younger vampire. He took her easily into his arms. "Where is she?" The original questions while putting their stuff down.

"Upstairs, I can't get her to leave the bed." Klaus mutter something that sounded like a thank you before hurrying up the stairs. Damon doesn't comment on it. He knows better than to.

Damon picks up one of the bags, Marianna's bag specifically making the split decision to take her over to Caroline's. The blonde would be ecstatic to see the little girl. It would also give him a chance to get an update from her about their werewolf problem known as Tyler Lockwood. He figured that those two needed a moment.

He could give them that.

Caroline was ecstatic to see Marianna. As was Marianna to see her. The little girl now very awake jumped into the female vampire's arms the moment she saw her. Damon stood back watching with a satisfied expression. He liked being right.

"Good to see you survived the full moon Barbie." He gives her a cheerfully false smile. Caroline gives him an annoyed look in return but doesn't comment. Instead she turns a question back on him. But he expected it so his answer is already prepared.

"How is Ariel?" She asks once Marianna is distracted playing with the teens old Kitchen set. Like mother like daughter.

"Dealing. It's handled, she'll be back to her old self soon. Now tell me about Lockwood." It's not a question and Caroline gives him an answer. One he's not very pleased to hear.

"You didn't tell him about me and Stefan did you?" She shakes her head.

"No I didn't. That's your problem. By the way, there's some woman who keeps sniffing around him. Jules I think. I think she's trying to find Mason." Caroline's tone is concerned and Damon tells her not to worry about it.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there, for now just keep an eye on them." To himself he thinks that another werewolf around worked out perfectly. It meant they wouldn't have to use the Lockwood brat as the werewolf part of the sacrifice if Klaus hadn't already found on himself.

The next full moon would be upon them soon and between the three of them they had all the required pieces to break the curse. Ariel had the moonstone in her possession and a way to keep Elena alive, which was all he cared about in the long run. As long as she lived it didn't matter to him what Klaus and Ariel had planned once the curse was broken. That was their business.

..

It takes a lot out of Klaus not to make a call and have her brother's killed. Because he should, for what their sudden determination to be in her life has done to Ariel. He should kill them for it. But he doesn't. At the end of the day it would do more harm than good to. She loved them too much.

He doesn't speak as he enters the room, takes one look at her curled up form and sighs. Klaus climbs into the bed next to her. His arms wrap slowly around her, he nuzzles his nose into the top of her hair. She grips his arms, holding onto them as if they are her only landline. Nik has always kept her grounded.

Eventually she turns to face him, burying her face into her chest, hocking her fingers into his shirt. Holding onto him so tight, afraid to let him go. He holds her close, one arms looped around her back the other around her head his hand in her hair his fingers running through the long tangled locks as a means to sooth her. They don't speak. Not for a long time.

"I don't understand." Her voice breaks as she speaks, as if she might start to cry again. "It should have been enough, I shouldn't have to keep doing this. Why won't they just leave me alone?" Ariel sounds hopeless, he pulls her closer and places a kiss to her forehead.

"Because at the end of the day, they're still your family love." The worst part of all of it, was that he understood where her brothers were coming for. He understood the need to be with and protect you siblings. Always and Forever. A promise he'd made with his own siblings.

"But, they can't be. Not now, not when there's so much a stake. My other brothers they mean start the apocalypse, and they'll use them to do so. Michael and Lucifer always get what they want." She whispered fiercely looking up at him, her eyes red, the signs of her tears still there.

"I won't let them have you, not this time." He swears running a hand down her cheek, his thumb wiping away a trail of tears. Ariel smiles, it doesn't quite reach her eyes, but it's something. Klaus can live with that.

"I have the moonstone, Katerina is locked away in the tomb, and all that's left is to get the Gilbert girl to agree. Which she will once I talk to her. By the end of the month, we'll be free." She tells him after a moment of silence between them, he presses a kiss to her nose.

"Then we have work to do." Klaus tells her seriously, she just smirks.

"We do, Elijah has probably already arrived in the town. I warned Damon and he passed the message along to Stefan and Elena for me. They know to be wary of him. His intentions cannot be trusted." He chuckled at her tone. Ariel was always two steps ahead, even in the face a crippling agony.

"That's my girl. I think it's time to face the day love." He's smirking at her, the sweetness of the moment officially gone. Ariel rolls over practically falling off the bed in her efforts to get up.

"I'm going to take a shower, call Damon and have him bring Elena and Stefan here. It's time we all talk." He watched her walk away, the attached bathroom door shut behind her. The sound of running water followed soon after. Klaus sat up.

He knew Damon left moments after he arrived, probably to take Marianna to Caroline's. While he had not met the baby vampire yet he knew that Ariel trusted her immensely with their daughter and that was enough for him. Also it wasn't like the girl could actually hurt his daughter. Klaus sent a quick text to Damon, before leaning back into the pillow.

It was finally happening.

..

Ariel's hair was still damp when the Salvatore's and their human companion arrived to her house. Damon had left Marianna in Caroline's care for the afternoon, for which she grateful. This would be harder to do if she had to keep an eye on her daughter while trying to explain the story to Stefan and Elena.

It was so much more than just a curse placed on Nik. Of course that was the main reason for the curse, but the other the part Ester placed on her with the help of her own brother's was the other part. The first half cursed Nik's werewolf gene's binding them, preventing him from being who he truly is. Ariel hated the woman for that more than anything else, and Ester had been responsible for her own death a millennium ago.

The second half of the curse made her vulnerable to her brothers, it made it where they could kill her without ripping out her grace and casting it down. This way they could just snap their fingers and she'd no longer be a problem. Because she was the only one alive who had the power to stop them, to stop the apocalypse from happening.

God had given her a job. To protect humanity, and humanity wouldn't survive the apocalypse. Especially not one devised by the angels.

It's why they had to break the curse now, so that when Michael and Lucifer sent their armies after her. She would be ready for them. Ariel didn't have to live in fear, always looking over her shoulder for the day someone decided to run an angel blade through her heart. Not again. Never again.

They both deserved to be free.

Michael and Lucifer would pay for what they took from her, what they keep trying to take form her. Niklaus was her family, he was the father of her child, her husband, a man that God himself made for her. They weren't going to separate them this time. Come hell or high water.

The archangels were about to find out who exactly was the hell and high water here. They were going to find out why God chose her over them.

Ariel pulled her still damp hair into a messy bun with one hand, she made a gesture for Stefan and Elena to take a seat on the couch. Damon carried three boxes of pizza in, she raised a brow at him. As if to ask what was the purpose of said box. "You need to eat." He tells her while setting one of the boxes into her now free arms.

"It better have pineapple on it." Her tone is serious as she walks over to the coffee table setting the box between her couch and the chair she's about to get very comfortable in. He snickers at her tone.

"Disgusting, but yes." He leans over the top of her chair, watching as she opens the box examining it.

Stefan and Elena watch the scene with mixed expressions. The younger Salvatore couldn't really believe how close these two seemed, their only known interaction up until now had been at the Grille. Elena just couldn't wrapped her mind around that this was the same woman who saved her the other day. She just looked like a normal human.

"No one asked you, go get plates. We'll eat and then we'll talk. Nik's out at the moment he had some business to attend to and will be back later." Damon rolls his eyes but complies with the not really a request. He returned moments later with a stack of paper plates.

"You've been gone for two months, how is your pantry fully stocked?" He wonders setting the plates down next the other boxes of pizza before handing her one and the taking a seat on the loveseat that sat so he could see the whole room. She doesn't answer.

"I'm going to explain everything. Then I'm going to give you the opportunity to ask questions. Let's get started."

 **XOXOX**

 **This chapter.. This chapter. Didn't think it was going to be so heavy. Also what is cannon? I don't know. Hope you like it!**

 **Sincerely, La'Rae**


	4. Chapter 4

Elena wasn't really sure what she was supposed to think. She honestly didn't know how she felt about it all. Ariel said she wouldn't really be sacrificed, she didn't believe the teen needed to die. "The original witch was a right cunt, if Nik managed to break the curse she wouldn't want him to be able to make more hybrids." Damon snorted when she said it and had then implied that the only reason she felt like that was because said witch had killed her. The woman in question had flipped off the elder Salvatore before standing up and wondering into the kitchen beckoning them to follow.

Damon made himself comfortable by sitting on the counter next to the sink. He smirked at them. "And now the grand finale where we spend the rest of the evening plotting in the kitchen." Ariel gave him an unamused look.

"I'm sure you have questions for me that I will gladly answer." She pulled down several containers from the cupboard above her head. Ariel made motion for Elena to come around the small island, she placed a wooden spoon in her head. The teen raised her brow.

"Ask, but mix." She placed a bowl with already portioned out ingredients in it in front of her. When had she? Elena did as she was told.

"How are you involved? How do you know all of this?" Elena questioned, the mixture slowly becoming a kind of dough. Ariel turned on the oven and pulled a few cookie sheets from the drawer.

"She's my wife." Stefan's head whirled around so fast that if he had been human it would have hurt. Standing in the doorframe of the kitchen, leaned against the frame like he owned the very air around them was the Original hybrid. Niklaus Mikaelson. Damon grinned at him from his spot. The poor human girl held a mixture of fear and surprise on her face at his sudden appearance.

Klaus to no consideration to anyone gave the girl a feral smirk. Ariel sighed at him. His dramatics were not needed here. She pointed a flour covered finger at him, her tone accusing. "You weren't supposed to be back until later. And you were supposed to bring more wine, where is the wine?" He snickered at her, holding up a bottled covered by a brown paper bag.

"Looking for this love?" Elena watched in a sense of morbid curiosity. This person was supposed the most powerful vampire in existence. But she couldn't help but compare him to Damon. If Damon was British and blonde. Her brow creased.

"Elena? Are you okay?" Stefan's concern dripped off his tongue like thick syrup. The human's attention was momentarily diverted back to her boyfriend. Ariel took the bowl from her and started scooping out cookies. She patted the girls arm.

"Damon take my husband and your brother and promptly get out of my kitchen." Damon gave her a small salute sliding off the counter heading towards his brother and the original.

"You wound me love." She rolled her eyes at his tone but didn't give him the satisfaction of retorting.

"You heard the lady, let's not make her ask again." Damon threw a grin at her over his shoulder, she rolled her eyes. Idiot.

They were left alone. Ariel placed one full backing sheet in the oven, she then pulled another bowl from the cabinet. "You will find that baking is a good way to deal with all the supernatural induced stress. At least it's what works best for me. Now that they're gone, you can asks the questions you really want to know." Elena gave her an appreciative nod.

"What happens if I decide not too? What will you do?" The brunette teen asked quietly. Ariel didn't even blink.

"We wouldn't force you, at the end of the day it's your choice." She sounded sincere, Elena was slightly hesitant to believe her.

"Who exactly is Elijah? I know that you saved him from me and then told us to look out for him. But who is he? Why is he so interested in me?" Ariel sighed. Elena had not disappointed her. These were the questions she wanted the girl to ask. Because this was the only way to get her to understand.

"They're brothers. Elijah and Nik. Right now they aren't on good terms, Elijah means to kill Nik. He would have used and manipulated you to do so. Nik will be at his weakest when the curse is first complete, Elijah knows that and seeks to use it against his brother." Elena took a moment to think over what she had been told.

"Why? Why does he want him dead?" Ariel fingers stopped mending the dough.

"Because he's an idiot who has no faith in his brother." She told the girl seriously, resuming her mending after a pause. Elena started scooping more dough on another baking sheet. Obvious she wasn't going to get any more than that out of the older woman on that particular subject.

"He said you are his wife?" The teen asks, her tone uncertain. Ariel pulled out one of the pans, the cookies a lovely color.

"That is a long story, and only the end has anything to do with the curse. But if you were willing I could tell you." Elena paused for a moment before nodding her head. She wanted to understand.

The woman gave the teen a small smile.

"To understand what happens, you must know this first. I am not human, I have never been human. There is nothing human about me." She begins, setting a timer on her phone. Not fully giving her focus to the beginning.

"You're not a vampire though, or a witch. Right?" Ariel nodded her head. "You are correct, I am neither of those things. I am not a creature of this earth." The confused look on Elena's face only deepens.

"Than what are you?"

"I am an angel of the Lord." And that was apparently all she was going to say on the matter. Elena decided that that bit of information was just a bit too much to handle, she became quiet.

..

Ariel often contemplated falling. She contemplated the time the ascension took, how the wind would blister your skin, how the landing would break your bones. As an angel the concept of falling was taken in to even more consideration, she thought of how the feeling of having your grace ripped from your being was worse than being stuck with a thousand blades, or how your shoulder blades would bleed for weeks following having your wings stripped. How she would never wish that raw broken feeling upon another angel no matter her current standings with heaven and it's host.

God was gone, he left them. He could no longer bare to see humanity to tear itself apart and he had left her to protect it. Michael and Lucifer meant to jump start the apocalypse as a means to rile God, as if they actually thought he would allow himself to fall to their level. There was no falling for God. He never fell, Ariel would never let him.

She was humanity's last defense for the apocalypse. The angels knew that, they knew she would stop them. It was why Michael and Lucifer had tried to end her all those years ago. Ariel was an angel who had been made to live among mortals, to protect them from the darkness, from themselves. God made her special, he picked her over her brothers and they'd never forgiven her for it.

Ariel took a sip from the glass in her hand. The wine tasteless on her tongue, nothing could compare to the wine she'd had during the early days. Wine made by the son, by the grace of God. She missed those days when he use to walk among them. When she could speak freely with him, talk to him, confide in him without fear of her brothers. About what they would do to her.

She sat her glass down, closing her eyes. It was time to focus.

God had abandoned them, abandon her. She couldn't even blame him, couldn't find it within herself to be mad. To be upset. Because she knows that it doesn't change anything. Ariel would continue to serve, faithfully, no matter what. It was all she could do.

Humanity was hers. The others would find out that you didn't mess with what was hers. She was a lioness, a hunter, a protector, and they'd made an enemy out of her. Michael and Lucifer would rue the day.

Falling. She often contemplated falling, and for once in her very long life she would make sure they failed. Falling, failure, it was all the same in the end. It was what brought her to this moment, far from her husband. From the family she had picked. Just watching.

"Tell me one thing why didn't the stake kill you." Ariel watched, the scene unfolded slowly. Her stupid, mortal, brothers, holding hostage her favorite angelic brother. He'd weaved a beautiful wed, but his tricks never lasted.

She knew they couldn't see her, couldn't sense her there, God made her special. So she watched. Eagle eye view, front row seat, to the entire apocalypse drama. Ariel shouldn't have been here, she should be back in Mystic Falls waiting for the full moon. But she couldn't help herself, she knew Niklaus would break his curse and then they would be free. In the end she needed to see this.

"Where did I screw up?" She honed her attention back to the scene unfolding. Ariel looked through her younger brother then, biting back the smirk on her lips as her eye drifted over to Dean's face.

"You didn't, no one gets the jump on Cas like that." Except her, she had. Sam is the one who says it, making a face at him.

"Mostly it was the way you talked about armageddon." Dean spoke, Ariel frowned. Drifting between their shoulders examining them closely. Briefly he looked at her, Ariel winked, and she could have sworn he smiled.

"Meaning?" He asked raising his brow at the brothers, his eyes drifted between them to her. He could always could feel her presence. She had come, and with her he could feel the warmth of their father once again.

"Well call it personal experience, no one gets that angry unless their talking about their own family." Ariel smiled back at Dean, even though he couldn't see her. She knew what he was talking about. Carefully she circled around the edge of the flames.

"So which one are you? Grumpy, Sneezy, or Douchey." Ariel snickered at that, he shot her a dirty look. She smirked at him as she came full circle, standing in front of them before him. He could see the lengths of her wings stretched out like a shield of protection over them.

"Gabriel, okay. They call me Gabriel." She looked over her shoulder to gage their reactions. It was, honestly as comical as she had expected it to be. Sam's brow rose.

"The archangel Gabriel?" Gabriel smirked at her boys.

"Guilty." Ariel rolled her eyes at his tone, typical. She shook her head then circling her brothers only half listening to their banter. This was not why she was here, this was wasting her time.

"Til you too screwed it all up! I'm not the only angel you've fucked over lately either." Gabriel's seething pulls her back to their conversation. She pinned him with a dark look before turning to her brothers.

Dean's brows furrowed together. Sam gave the archangel a unreadable look, but he appeared confused. They looked between each other for a moment. "Are you talking about our sister?" Something in her chest tightened. They still considered her theirs. Gabriel smirked, and then looked directly at her a meaningful look on his face.

"Ding, ding ding, we have a winner. Oh Ariel, sweet, sweet Ariel. She always gets screwed over because of her brothers." He says knowingly, Ariel holds her breath. Curious as to what Gabriel would do next. In that moment she particularly glad for this one gift from her father.

Dean looks absolutely appalled, and angry. They were still coming to terms with all the details. "What is with you dicks. We are not Michael and Lucifer." Gabriel actually snorted, Ariel rolled her eyes. She'd heard those excuses before and yet she still didn't believe them.

"That's the thing, you too don't have a choice."

Dean scoffed, shaking his head at the angel they had captive."You know she said the same thing."

Gabriel looked over at her and she gave a slight nod of her head. He was asking for her permission, and she had just granted it. "You know Ariel, she was always our fathers favorite. Always did what was asked of her, never complained, never questioned her orders. Michael and Lucifer always hated her, she was finally safe, God had rewarded for her work and they punished her for it. She didn't even do anything wrong! Just followed orders and they ripped her grace from her chest, sawed off her wings, and ran a sword through her chest! And you to morons drug her back into it, and I'll get to watch my favorite sibling die all over again." He told them, his emotions momentarily getting the best of him. Ariel smiled softly at him nodding her thanks.

"Now, are we going to just stand here for all eternity looking at each other. What's the plan here boys?" Gabriel questions drawing them from his rant, away from the current course.

Dean growled. "First your going to bring Cas back from wherever you stashed him." He declared, Ariel rolled her eyes. Poor Castiel, always being jerked around by everyone. Gabriel rolled his eyes at that.

"Am I?" He rose his brow, Ariel snickered. They both he knew he would do it. Gabriel liked Castiel.

"Yah, or we're going to dunk you in holy oil and deep fry ourselves an archangel." Ariel drew in a breath, she would have to stop them if they tried that. Gabriel took one look at her face and then back at them. He snapped his fingers. Castiel appears behind the boys, his face a bit beaten, his lips split she gave Gabriel a look. He ignored it.

"Cas are you okay?" The dark haired angel nodded looking directly through her he looked right at Gabriel. Ariel hadn't revealed herself to him so he couldn't see her.

"I'm fine. Hello Gabriel." Ariel sighed, the tension coming from both of them was so annoying.

"Hey, bro. How's the search for daddy going? Let me guess, awful. Especially since you went and pissed off the only angel he's talked to in eons." Gabriel sounded so hopeless, she could hear the breaking in his voice. She could tell he was so close to losing faith. Ariel reached out to him, her fingers dusted across the flame. It couldn't burn her. The flames danced around her hand never touching her, never burning her.

She let her thoughts drift to the bush. Her thoughts briefly on Moses. Ariel had always liked him. God had been fond of him too. The flames danced around her finger tips, shouting draws her back to the presence. "We're not, because we don't screw with people the way you do. And for the record this isn't about some prizefight between your brothers. Or some destiny that can't be stopped. This is about you being too afraid to stand up to your family!" Dean breaks the glass covering the fire alarm. He looks through her at Gabriel, eyes set and a threatening undertone in them. Neither archangel misses it.

"Don't say I never did anything for you. Also don't ever talk to me about my sister ever again, I promised I'd never let anything hurt her and I intend to keep it." Ariel felt something wet slide down the side of her cheek. She pulled her hand from the flame, wiping the singular tear away.

She stood frozen in that spot for a long moment watching her brothers walk away, Ariel had to let them go. The fire around Gabriel died. He stared at her eyes wide. No angel had seen Ariel in eons of her own accord. Gabriel reached out to her then, he touched her cheek, she placed a hand over his. "Hello big sister." Ariel smiled at him.

"Baby brother, we need to talk." His hand dropped from her cheek and he took a cautious step back. Gabriel wasn't sure what she would do. He blinked, the walls from the warehouse disappeared around them, falling into nothing.

Ariel stood with her back to him then. He took a note of the chosen location, a smile found it's way on his lips. Gabriel remembered this place. She use to bring him here, when he was younger, after God had created him. Her face had been one of the first of his siblings he'd seen. Not Michael, nor Lucifer, just her.

"The others thought you had finally abandon humanity. There have been whispers." He tells her, Ariel snorts. She cast her eyes out to the heavens above them.

"They can only wish. Gabriel, I need you to deliver a message for me." He gave her a look.

"Nah un, I don't do that anymore." At that she looked over her shoulder at him raising her brow at him.

"You are the great messenger, God's great messenger. I have a message for you, one you will deliver." Gabriel realizes that it's non negotiable. She isn't going to give him a choice. Ariel was God's fiercest advocate, she was more his warrior than the others had ever been. God picked her.

He sighs. "What's the message Ariel?"

"Next time you see Michael or Lucifer, you tell them this. The wrath of God is coming." Ariel vanished from her spot, leaving him alone on the hilltop. Gabriel shook his head.

He started to whistle. Well then. It seemed the lionesse was back on the prowl, and she'd just decided who exactly was her next prey was. Their brothers were about to be in an extremely difficult position. Gabriel watched the sun set before leaving.

He always had liked this spot.

 **XOXOX**

 **Wow. It's been a long time since I've updated this story. My bad guys. Anyway I hope you all like it. Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading.**

 **Sincerely, La'Rae**


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